Off to glory...

In my childhood, when we set out on a trip, my father (a salty old cuss) would often remark, "Off to glory in a shower of s__t!"  (And if we asked, "When are we going to be there, Daddy?" he would reply "When we drive into the G.D. driveway!")

So, in the wee hours this morning, my nephew the economist and founder of a nonprofit organization will be picking me up for the drive to the bus terminal in City by the Sea. The terminal is open for half an hour in the middle of the night so that people with early flights out of Logan can catch the bus and arrive around 5:00 am. By half past ten (their time) or half past eleven (my time) I'll be in City of Lakes, where Sisterfilms will pick me up. Her plans for my afternoon include a nap and switching laundry from washer to dryer at The Traveller's house, since the cold weather is forestalling the re-installation of the dryer chez Comrade Landlords. 

I'm all packed, with just a few things to think about before I leave, so will probably watch a movie tonight.  I hope I can get Rusty into his garage sequestration without incident. He already suspects something is up that he won't like.

I hope I can remember how to get email while I'm away, and that I can get onto Blogger occasionally. I've already done and scheduled the remainder of the December Stories and Songs posts.  One of my DorothyL mystery list colleagues recommended them on DorothyL! And she's a real writer!  

But, if neither of these things come to pass, be assured that I wish all of you a Merry Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year, and a happy and, if not prosperous, at least not destitute New Year!

My States Visited Map

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

I'm reasonably sure about Arkansas and Missouri, since I remember driving through the Ozarks with my family on our way from Texas to Maine via Norwalk, Ohio (where my aunt and uncle lived at the time) in early 1955. It's possible I may have visited New Mexico while we lived in El Paso, Texas; I'm just not sure. Actually I think I'm going to make another one that shows states I've actually lived in, which will be perhaps more impressive.



create your own visited states map

Well, it's not THAT impressive, but it's more realistic than states visited -- for instance -- I have visited South Carolina several times, but North Carolina only as a drive-through in early childhood. Except for Minnesota, all the states were lived in before age 25. Since then, just Minnesota and Maine.